It was after I did my tax return of (2007-2008) financial year.
after I lodged my tax return a few weeks later I got a letter from ATO telling me to pay back the amount I owe from a financial institution, the amount was over $4000 I can't remember the exact figure overhead, but I have the paperwork somewhere.
So when I fail to understand what ATO is talking about in the letter, I decided to ask my tax agent explain to me in details what this letter is all about, because I was emotionally affected so much, then when my tax agent explained the letter to me, I called ATO if they can let me know which institution they are talking about, I asked them the name of the institution, luck enough the lady who picked up my phone acted real professional and disclosed to me, she said the institution is Centrelink, then when I went to the Centrelink, the person I got from the counter checked for my details in the system, and said they sent my group certificate for the financial (2007-2008) year to my address which I was supposed to declare to tax argent my total financial income for the financial year of 2007-2008.
I told her when I went for holidays overseas I came here to your office and I told you, I have come to change my address because the unit I live in has been sold and the owner is moving in, the person I talked to by then at the Centrelink told me they don't have my details in the system because I have been working for long so they have closed my file, so I can do whatever I want to do, and that was 2008 in June, so what they did was they send my group certificate to my old address which they shouldn't. So they gentlemen whom I got at Centrelink told me they can't do anything much, maybe I should complain to ATO maybe ATO will reverse my issue and when I rang ATO they said the mistake was from Centrelink so they can't do anything much.
Up to today, all the offices refuse to help me.
Being a refugee I feel I'm looking at like a foreigner, and yet I belong to Australia, even if I was not born here. I'm very stressed every year I got to apply for my tax return, I don't get any money back, not even a cent.
I'm very depressed with ATO and Centrelink mistreating such innocent people who come to this country as refugees, work hard to support their families left in the camps.
Please I need someone to come to my rescue.
To me, it is totally unacceptable, special to immigrants and refugees who come to this country with a lot of stress, depression, what the refugees went through from their country and from the camps they have been living in before they moved to Australia was enough stress for them, I advise government should do something, especial the politicians within the electoral area MP's should come up and intervene some of this kind of mistreatment towards non-English speaking people.
Centrelink and ATO are government body I though they will handle my case in a proper way other than dodging me up to now, honestly all these years.....